Rain gutter construction

ABSTRACT

RAIN GUTTERS FOR A BUILDING HINGED TO SWING DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY OF THE EDGE OF THE ROOF FOR WINTER STORAGE BEHIND THE FACIA BOARD WHICH IS HINGED AT ITS LOWER EDGE. AN EMPTY SPACE IS BETWEEN THE FACIA BOARD AND THE ENDS OF THE RAFTERS AND JOINTS TO CONFINE THE GUTTER FOR STORAGE.

Nov. 2, 1971 2.. WALEK EI'AL 3,616,582 I RAIN GUTIER CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 15, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 2, 1971 G. E. WALEK EI'AL v 3,516,582

RAIN GUTTER CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 15. 1969 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvliNlllks 65940 .5 I4/4LE(,' 7 BY ie/w 4. 04304/ ArTOPA/EKS United States Patent Ofiice 3,616,582 f RAIN GUTTER CONSTRUCTION Gerald E. Walek, 556 E. Nevada St., St. Paul, Minn. 55101, and Arvid A. Olson, 212 Daphne Ave., Cottage Grove, Minn. 55016 Filed Aug. 15, 1969, Ser. No. 850,490 Int. Cl. E04d 13/00 US. C]. 52-15 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Rain gutters for a building hinged to swing downwardly and inwardly of the edge of the roof for winter storage behind the facia board which is hinged at its lower edge. An empty space is between the facia board and the ends of the rafters and joists to confine the gutter for storage.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings include:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the present invention installed in a building construction and in operative condition.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 and illustrating the building construction after the gutter has been concealed for winter storage.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail section view taken approximately at 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail section view, substantially identical to FIG. 3, except with the gutter swung into the empty space for winter storage.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail section view showing the seal between two adjacent rain gutters.

3,616,582 Patented Nov. 2., 1971 cludes a framework, indicated in general by numeral 14 which cooperates with the facia board 11 and roof board 13 to define an elongate storage space 15 behind the facia board 11 and extending along the edge of the roof of the building construction for winter storage of the rain gutter 12. The elongate storage space 15 is opened at its opposite ends as to provide a continuous storage space along the entire roof of the building construction when adjacent components 10 are mounted in end to end relation with each other, so that the gutters 12 may be continuous, along the building construction, as is conventional, when the gutters are swung outwardly into operative condition.

The framework 14 is also employed for the purpose of rigidly mounting the sofiit P which is conventional in most a residential building constructions and which is ordinarily FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail section view showing a I detachable connection between the gutter and the down spout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION One form of the invention is shown in the drawings and is described herein.

This invention is to be used as a component, indicated in general by numeral 10 of -a building construction. The component is to extend along the edge portion of the roof of the building, and to actually comprise an extension of the roof boards R, and to extend across and be attached to the ends of the rafters S which are shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 3 and 4. The component 10 of building construction includes the substantially. conventional facia board 11, the rain gutter 12 which will confront and lie against the facia board 11 for normal use during the summer months, and will be swung inwardly behind the facia board 11 for winter storage, substantially as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4. The component 10 also includes the roof board 13 to define the edge of the roof structure as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and as to provide a continuation of the other roof boards R of the building construction.

The component 10 of building construction also inconstructed of plywood.

The framework 14 includes a rear panel 16 and a bottom panel 17 which are rigidly interconnected with each other as by nailing, gluing and by the block 18. The panel 16 is continuous and imperforate so as to limit access into the spaces between the rafters S, although provision for ventilation can be made if desired.

The roof board 13 is afiixed to the framework panel 16 by nailing or other fasteners or gluing, and also by a block 19. The roof panel 13 has a cantilever edge portion 13a extending beyond the framework panel 16 to overlie the end of the rafters S and facilitate nailing the edge of the roof board 13 to the rafters. Of course, there will be nailing between the framework panel 16 and the rafters so as to securely mount the component 10* in place.

The facia board 11 is secured to the framework panel 17 by a hinge 20, arranged so that the hinge pin 21 is disposed below the framework panel 17 and adjacent the lower edge of the facia board 11 so as to permit ready and easy outward swinging of the facia board 11 to the dotted position B shown in FIG. 4 and as to prohibit any inward swinging of the facia board 11 into the storage space 15.

The component 10 is constructed in such length as to be easy to handle and install and is typically made in lengths of 10 feet.

The gutter 12 is suspended from the edge portion of the roof board 13 by strap type hinges 22 which are fastened as by screws to the roof board and are fastened as by sheet metal screws to the rear panel 12a of the gutter. It will be noted that the gutter 12 is mounted on the strap 22a of the hinge in spaced relation below the hinge pin 22b so as to facilitate some outward swinging of the gutter 12 from the position shown in FIG. 3 and thereby permit downward swinging of the facia board to open the storage space 15.

The gutter 12 has support straps 23 affixed to the front lip or edge 12b of the gutter at suitable intervals along the length of the gutter to provide support for the gutter 12. The straps 23 are detachably connected to the anchor 24 affixed at the edge of the roof board 13. In the form shown, the anchor 24 is simply a screw, and the straps 23 will have a hole, preferably shaped like a keyhole slot, to receive the head of the anchor 24 therethrough. In some installations, it is desirable to have weather stripping 25 along the upper edge of the facia board 11 to keep snow, moisture, and dirt out of the storage space 15.

The end edges of adjoining sections of the gutter 12 will be closely spaced with respect to each other when adjoining components 10 are attached to the building construction. The end edges of the gutter 12 will be sealed to each other by a suitable neoprene gasket or joint 26 which may be molded or extruded and which is in the form of a wide flat strip having a rib 27 to extend between and seal against the end edges of the adjoining gutter sections.

The bottom panel 120 of the rain gutter need only be apertured as at 28 as illustrated in FIG. 6 in order to facilitate attachment of a down spout D. The down spout is connected simply by a connector sleeve 29 which is slipped down through the hole 28 and has a flange 29a to rest upon and be sealed by neoprene gasket to the bottom panel 120 of the gutter. The sleeve 29 has spring clips 30 to project outwardly through holes 31 in the down spout D for supporting the down spout and maintaining the water flow relationship between the gutter and the down spout.

Corner sections 32 of the rain gutter will be detachably connected to permanently affixed portions 11a of the facia boards which are separate from the facia boards 11. and by suitable clips or fasteners and gaskets to the ends of gutter sections 12.

The facia boards are held in upright condition when the gutter 12 is located in the storage space 15 by suitable fasteners, which, in the form shown, comprise hinges 33 mounted on the edge of the roof board 13 with one leaf of the hinge bearing against the upper edge of the facia board. Merely by lifting the leaf of the hinge 33, the facia board will be released for downward swinging as is necessary to provide access into the storage space 15.

It is contemplated herein that the facia boards 11 are constructed of wood. However, it is to be understood that other materials may be substituted. Rigid plastic panels of styrene or other similar material may be used; or the facia boards may be fabricated from metal panels such as aluminum and galvanized iron.

It will be seen that we have provided a unique component for building construction facilitating the swinging of rain gutters into and out of operative position so that they may be stored for winter behind the protective facia board which conceals all traces of the gutters during their off season storage. The component is simple and easy to install, merely by attaching it to the ordinary framing of a building construction and specifically to the ends of the rafters and possibly to the ends of the joists. The component provides the edge board of the roof which will be overlaid with suitable shingling or other roof covering.

What we claim is:

1. A utilized component of building construction comprising:

an elongate framework extending along and attached to the ends of a number of rafters,

a roof board mounted on the framework to form a continuation of the roof of the building and define the edge of the roof,

an upright facia board having an upper edge adjacent and beneath said roof board, the lower edge portion of the facia board being hinged to the framework,

the facia board cooperating with the framework and roof board to define an elongate gutter storage space,

and a rain gutter hinged to the roof board adjacent the facia board to lie along the facia board and beneath the edge of the roof board for collecting and carrying water from the roof, the gutter being swingable into said storage space to be confined by the facia board.

2. The invention according to claim 1 and the storage space having open ends, each of which is situated at the end of a gutter to facilitate mounting such unitized components in end to end relation in the building construction.

3. In a rain gutter construction for the edge of the roof of a building wherein a rain gutter under the edge of the roof collects Water therefrom, the improvement comprising:

an elongate enclosure extending along, beneath and inwardly from the edge of the roof to define an elongate rain gutter storage space sheltered from the weather;

the enclosure including a hinged facia board alternately opening and closing the storage space and normally confronting the gutter, the facia board being disposed inwardly from the edge of the roof and being swingable outwardly from the edge of the roof; and

a hinged mounting for the gutter separate from the facia board and permitting outward swinging of the gutter away from the facia board and inward swinging of the gutter into the storage space.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,507,078 4/1970 Sayers, Sr 52-15 1,414,345 5/1922 Eeftink 248-482 1,609,908 12/ 1926 Lewerenz 52-11 2,271,081 1/1942 Layton 52-15 X 2,577,006 12/1951 Dodson 248-48.1 2,631,801 3/1953 Toal 24848.1 2,983,079 5/1961 Dunn 52-11 3,091,055 5/1963 Hegedusich 52-16 3,286,413 11/1966 Wells 52-16 FOREIGN PATENTS 423,172 9/1965 Switzerland 52-11 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner S. D. BURKE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 52-94; 248-48.l

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Inventor) Gerald E. Walek and Arvid A. Olson It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In claim 1, at line 43 of Column 3, delete "utilized" and substitute --unitized.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of A ril 19?2.

(SEAL) Attest EDWARD I'LFLIZTCIIER, JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents ORM PC3-1050 (10- 9! USCOMM-DC 50376-P69 U 5, GOVERNMENT PRIN'HNG OFFICE: I969 0-35633 

